A look back at Yakuza 3

The Yakuza series has skyrocketed in popularity in the west since the release of Yakuza 0, which saw critical acclaim and sales outside of Japan that the series hadn't seen before and led to remakes of the first two games alongside re-releases of all the mainline games that were on the PlayStation 3 onto the PlayStation 4. Moreover, the series finally broke its PlayStation exclusivity, making their way onto the Steam store and XBOX's Game Pass system with such success that Yakuza 7 was released as a launch title for the XBOX Series X. Now that the Yakuza Remastered collection is headed to the XBOX later this month, I thought it was time to look back on the game that got me into the series, Yakuza 3.

To anyone who was played any later Yakuza game on the old engine, the third installment may feel somewhat dated as later games in the series improve on the combat, levelling systems, and side content. On top of this, the higher difficulties in the game can be quite dense since enemies just block a hell of a lot more instead of providing a decent challenge, which can make some encounters far more frustrating as you desperately try to get through or around their block just to get through the battle. For those that started on 0 and are confident by the time they get to 3, it may seem like quite the leap down after going through both the Kiwami games as well.

However, as I said, 3 was my first Yakuza game, and as such it holds quite a special place in my heart.

I first played Yakuza 3 back around 2014 and has since become the game I've replayed the most in the series as I've gone through it 3 times in total. Across those playthroughs I've become intensely familiar with the story, characters, and locales that have each become some of my favourites in the series, as so many of these parts work together to give the game a unique, underlying charm that I always love. While every Yakuza game is very different from the last, with no two games in the series feeling exactly alike thanks to wildly differing plots and gameplay, Yakuza 3 almost completely goes against the gritty crime drama that the series usually is.

Don't get me wrong, there's still all the usual criminal shenanigans and betrayals that are series staples, however a significant portion of the game is spent running a peaceful orphanage in Okinawa, an island off the coast of Japan. For those used to the thrills of previous games, this change of pace might be mind-numbing for some - especially considering that after the first chapter it takes a good few hours to get into the main plot - but to look over what is quite possibly some of the most heartwarming content in the entire series is a disservice to the fantastic things Yakuza 3 has to offer.

About half of the game is spent in and around the orphanage, and accompanying these segments are all manner of substories and interactions with the kids which are adorable in and of themselves, but also provide some fantastic development to Kiryu's character through how he looks after the orphans. Other games in the series do well to show Kiryu as a stalwart and morally sound tank who solves most of his problems with his fists, yet 3 starts to explore his role as a father figure and it does it damn well. Whether he's handing out sage advice to the orphans or putting on a wrestling show to cheer one of them up, Kiryu does his absolute best time and again throughout to be a good role model to those under his care.

Compounding on this is the supporting cast, namely the Ryudo family which are a fantastic foil to the previous Yakuza families in the series through being small and endearing as anything, with the relatively inexperienced family captain Rikiya contrasting the hardened Yakuza verteran that is Kiryu; their contributions to the story serve to amplify the kind heart that beats through Yakuza 3's story, showcasing polar opposite attitudes to the vile actions of the Kamurocho-based families that makes up the Tojo clan. Moral quandries are hardly unique to Yakuza 3 compared to the rest of the series, but the comparitive naïvety of Rikiya and the Ryudo family give them a charm that isn't really seen again until Yakuza 6 with the Hirose family.

Sure, Yakuza 3 has a few issues that got fixed in later Yakuza games, but I'm of the belief that there are no bad Yakuza games, especially in the mainline entries. Yakuza 3 has a kind of heart and energy that, in my opinion, is unmatched in other games in the series; that doesn't make it necessarily better or worse than the other titles, but it is definitely part of what makes this game so memorable to me and worth playing. With the Yakuza Remastered Collection getting released on Steam and XBOX come January 28th, I hope more people will play it and fall in love with its charm.

Oh, also the final boss music is easily the best in the series.